C-Note Coming Out

The redesigned $100 bill will make its debut on Tuesday despite the government shutdown.

The new bill contains new security features including a blue, 3-D security ribbon which “will be easier for the public to authenticate but more difficult for counterfeiters to replicate,” according to a press release on NewMoney.gov.

“We've built up large inventories of redesigned $100 notes in Federal Reserve Bank vaults across the United States. Beginning on Oct. 8, any financial institution that orders $100s from the Federal Reserve will receive the new design,” said Sonja Danburg, program manager for U.S. currency education at the Federal Reserve Board.

“But the time it takes a note to journey from there to businesses and consumers is influenced by distance, demand, and the policies of individual financial institutions. In the meantime, you can still trust and rely on the security features in the previous $100 note designs, such as the embedded security thread,” Danburg added.

The Department of Treasury told Credit Union Times that the congressional appropriations process does not affect the printing of the new note.

“The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is responsible for producing the bills and the Federal Reserve is the issuing authority,” said a Treasury Department spokesperson.

“Both are funded from sources other than annual Congressional appropriations and are unaffected by the shutdown,” the spokesperson said.

The redesign was originally unveiled in 2010 but an “unexpected production delay” postponed its debut.

The latest change to the note marks the fourth redesign in almost 100 years of circulation.

The note’s last re-design started circulating in 1996. The $100 bill is reportedly the second most common bill in circulation today, second to the $1 bill.